An agreement has been reached to allow thousands of rebel fighters and civilians to leave a besieged town near the Syrian capital.

Both sides said the evacuation of Daraya would begin on August 26.

State media reported that 700 armed men will be allowed safe passage out of Daraya to the northern province of Idlib while some 4,000 civilians will be taken to shelters.

Syria's army has encircled Daraya since 2012, regularly bombing the area just 7 kilometers from Damascus.

Residents, which have faced shortages of food, water, and power, only received their first supplies in four years in June.

Meanwhile, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 15 people, including 11 children, were killed in a barrel bomb attack by government forces in a rebel-held neighborhood in the northern city of Aleppo.